Overlord: Sidequests
by XSDStitch
Summary: Not every Tale that should be told belongs into a Grand Saga. This is a compilation of Stories of Events that have little to no effect to the main stories... but are still worth sharing.
1. The Tournament Part 1

"Welcome Unar." smiles Kuran as he greets his Taumin Mistress as she came through the gate. With her were a few other Taumins, one especially is very big. And in her arms was their daughter.

Smiling down to the little girl he says, "Hello Visala! Want to say hello to daddy?" The little taumin squealed as she saw her father and reaches out her hands towards him, and the Overlord chuckles as he picked up the girl and holds her close, causing a happy wail from her.

Chuckling he looked up at her mother and asks, "I take that big guy next to you is your champion?"

"Right you are." smiles Unor, "Name is Drunius. Strongest Warrior."

"Then why isn't he one of of the Chiefs?" wondered the Overlord, knowing that one is not one of the chiefs on his territory.

"Strong he is. Skill he has. Mind not sharp for chief." she simply explained to which Kuran simply sweatdropped, feeling that guy won't make it to the final rounds. Anyway, he got close to the Taumin and took her hand, "Let's get to your room and then, in a few days, enjoy the tournament." he smiles to her.

"Good idea." smiles the female Taumin in return and they started to go.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Queen Arlene sighs while resting from a long day of work… despite what everybody tells her, even her husband Kuran, she doesn't let others handle her business while heavily pregnant with her first child. She was quite stubborn about that. Shaking her head, she looked at the only other person in the room: The best knight of the humans, Knight Thierri of the South. Which… doesn't tell much given the state of the kingdom after that bloody civil war.

Anyway, the knight was kneeling in front of his queen and Arlene spoke, "You know why I called you… you will be my champion in the tournament."

"Yes, my queen. And it is an honour to claim victory in your name." replied the knight.

However, said queen only shakes her head "No. You will not claim victory. The forces you will face are too much for a single knight. Even the best our kingdom could offer. All I ask you is to achieve at least one of the final rounds."

"I fear I don't understand, my queen." countered the knight "You called because I am the best…"

"I know. But I also know that at least my husband, Overlord Kuran, has a demon as his champion. Are you proficient you could deal with that demon if you face her? Or the other quite powerful champions the others gathered?"

Taking that into account the knight shakes the head, "No… and I understand why you place no faith in my victory. But I will reach as high up as my abilities will allow me! That is what I swear upon my honour."

Arlene nods to that and sighs, hoping that it won't end in a disaster.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Raven, are you sure you want to do it? While you were great as my right hand, I don't think you should go to a tournament once more." stated Lehid, while eating some nuts she was carving for recently. She wondered briefly if it is due to her pregnancy. It wouldn't be that surprising and a hand-rubbed her swollen stomach gently.

"I can see why you have these concerns." admits the older Skeith but shakes his head, "But I am the most experienced of all the Skeith under your command. And if you need one to be your champion in this tournament, then I will at least try to see how far I come before I get stomped on." and laughs while slapping his leg a bit.

"Just… be careful." sighs Lehid, leaning back again. "I don't know what I would do if you get too seriously harmed. While the tournament is strict non-lethal… who knows what kinds of wounds you could get for being reckless or not careful enough."

"I will return in one piece, that is my promise, my lady." and Raven bows to her, in assurance.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Good that you came." spoke Ahya towards the Naga that came to her room. She turned her head with her staff in hands and whistled with her tongue a bit before asking, "You know why I called you?"

"Yes." answered the female, "You want me to fight in your name in the tournament." and fiddled with her own staff. "Though… are you sure I might win? I managed to gather information on the other champions. And given my speciality is long-range magical strikes, I will perform poorly."

"I am aware of it." admits Ahya while gazing at her staff and then turns to the other naga. "And I don't expect you to win, Pherite. In fact, I only want you to survive the tournament long enough to face one of the other Champions. I don't plan to give out all cards our species can perform. Not even the Overlord. Our support for the war already showed too much of our capacities as war mages. And the research we support our intellect in that direction as well. But on one to one battles… the type of battles that will matter in our near future. I prefer to send somebody ill-suited into the match than secure victory."

Understanding the logic Pherite bowed. "Then I will perform the best I can offer. But if it comes down to it, I will forfeit the last match before the final rounds."

"Make still a believable show. I don't want anybody to suspect us holding back."

"Of course, my lady." and the naga retreats out of Ahya's quarters.

The red-haired naga whistled with her tongue once more. "If all comes to plan… the Overlord will head to our territory next after the tournament. And once he did his deed… we will show him what our true goals are." and giggled to herself.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Isadel was wandering in a garden and looks at the flowers growing there. Despite the time of the year, she feels curious how it was possible that here, in the garden of the late Isota, the flowers and plants are still so green while most of the land is turning slowly to autumn. Which also worries a bit now that she thinks about it.

The lands that were burned in the civil war are far from being recovered, and while the food reserves are mostly covered for this winter, the future is uncertain in her eyes. The death tolls mean that many of the farms are no longer being taken care of or are undermanned. And the thought of using the Minions for that task was thrown away instantly. With their intelligence, who knows what they would do in the incompetence.

She sighed and suddenly heard somebody land behind her. Turning around she expected to see one of the gardeners that came to that growing Skeith community. They were after all those who managed to keep the green for so long. Though she learned they can only do that little miracle so far and is mostly to grow some more fruits and vegetables before the winter months.

Though she was surprised that instead of a gardener, she spots one of the mercenaries… or should she call them soldiers? She really has trouble to determinate it at this point as she isn't sure if they are really still Mercenaries or part of her lovers' army. "Yes?" she asked the Skeith.

"Mylady." he bowed, "A dark elf has arrived and requested an audience with you."

"A dark elf?" she asked and wondered if he came from her home. If that is the case, he must have been traveling for months.

"I will meet him in the small saloon." she informed him and was glad that Lehid had allowed her to use the mansion fully when she wasn't around.

She was soon standing in the Saloon with a Dark Elf she could easily identify as a female Warrior with the name Somno. Kneeling down, the warrior had his shield and sword strapped on his back. "Princess Isadel. Your Grandmother, Queen Fay, has sent me to represent you at the tournament of Overlord Kuran."

"You must have been travelling for months to arrive here. I hope the trip was uneventful." greeted the dark elf princess to her.

"Aside from bandits, I were not really bothered during the trip." was Somno's answer.

"Then rise. Rise as my champion… and have a bath and a decent meal. You had a long trip and I prefer that you're at your peak condition when your time comes to face your opponents at the tournament."

"Your words are proof of great wisdom." nodded the dark elf and rose at this command and Isadel called for a servant to provide food and a bath to the warrior.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Thank you for seeing me on that short notice, Hama." Exclaims Silver while walking alongside a human ranger. "I know you're quite caught up with your training but I simply want to know if you're feeling up to the challenge now."

Hama snorted, "I'm feeling more than up to it. At the end of the week, I will be the last one standing and hold in your name the trophy of this tournament. I never lost before and I won't change that philosophy."

"I just want to warn you, my friend. In this tournament are some participants that promise many troubles. And I am left to wonder how some of these are even allowed to participate." countered the young Lord. "But I believe in your ability and have little doubt in you earning great honours."

Hama placed a hand on Silver's shoulder, "Don't fear Taumin or Skeith. Whatever strength they hold, I can work around them."

"That reassures me. Now take some rest. Soon you have to fight many strong members." smiled Silver and they head back to his estate.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Welcome! Welcome to the first tournament held by our Ruler, Overlord Kuran!" shouts a voice out of a very large trumpet-like construct resting in the hands of half a dozen minions. The man on the smaller end paused for a moment and drinks some water before he continues. "Today we will watch the first battles which will in the end determine which final eight candidates will fight for the title, starting tomorrow!" and an uproar was heard.

That uproar came from audience that came to the newly opened colosseum to witness its virgin round of tournaments. The caller had cleared his throat once more and the people became silent. "I would like to introduce all of the tournament members at once but given of how many we have here today, it would cost so much time we wouldn't even see a single battle today! So let's save it for the final tournament members. Except for the champions chosen by the Overlord, his mistress, his advisor and of course his lords."

And as he had said that, the crowd turned to the platform reserved for the upper class and they saw the mentioned people arriving and taking their seats, though Arlene needed some help as she was heavily pregnant by that point.

"And now we start the games!" called the announcer, "Our first match is special as it also features our first champion! Let us welcome the champion of our dear Queen Arlene! Sir Thieri of the South!" and the people roared as the knight walked into the arena and bowed in front of his queen. "And his opponent… is a girl thinking herself as a pirate with an embarrassing outfit… Here isssss Anastasia!"

And the stadium went so silent crickets could be heard as the pink wearing pirate went in. Looking around on that reaction, she shrugged and placed her umbrella on the shoulder. "Well… looks like I have to prove my worth."

"Both fighters are now required to go to their positions."

The two stood on opposite ends and Thieri draws his weapon, a large two-handed sword.

Kuran looked at the knight and glances at Arlene, "That is your champion?"

"Yes, he is. Something wrong?" asks the pregnant queen.

"I'll tell you after that battle." was the Overlord reply.

Anastasia opens her umbrella and used it seemly to cover her from the sun. Then a horn was blown and it was the sign to Begin.

The knight rushes towards the pirate with his blade held above the head. Anastasia smirked and threw her open umbrella in the air, grabbed the handle and pulled, revealing a blade inside the umbrella.

Holding it in front of her she sidesteps the knights overhead attack and thrusts forward to poke the blade in a gap of the armour. Thieri shouts in pain and swung his two-handed weapon around but she ducks under it and thrust her weapon again. This time she didn't get the gap so she jumped back and holds her hand out, catching the rest of her umbrella with her hand. With a trained flick, the grip made some clicks and turns into the hold of a shield.

"Such a sad view. A girl thinking to win with a blade that breaks easily and an umbrella as a shield." Taunts the knight while placing the blade on his shoulder.

"Oh, you will be surprised." smirks Anastasia and starts running towards him, throwing herself at his direction. He swiped his blade in a circle but she rolled under it and slashes with her rapier and Thieri cries loudly as the inside of his knee was wounded and fell on his knees, and then felt the tip of the girls' weapon at his neck, causing him to stop breathing for a moment.

Everything was silent for a moment before the announcer declared, "And the Winner is Anastasia!" and roars of cheering erupts from the stands.

Arlene gave an applaud but sighs loudly as she mused, "And I thought he would make it at least so far to lose to one of the other champions."

"In the way he held his weapon and took his stance, forget it." stated Kuran while drinking some wine, "I take he is mostly an honorary knight?"

"The best of the ones I have." she admits and turns her head. "Father always gave him lots of praise but I never understood why he never was sent to fight."

"Arlene… most honorary knights are good for parades but not for combat. He lacked serious experience." shakes the Overlord his head and huffed. "That he lost now is only proof here. Even if the girl is something unexpected."

"So, in short, my choice for a champion was faulty because I didn't know it better…" she groaned while placing a hand on her head as she got a headache. "I hope that isn't going to reflect on what people think of me."

"That I cannot promise." was her husbands weak reply.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

The battles continued for a while without real surprises except for the obvious ones due to some of the choices of the tournament. Until the next fight was again between two Champions. Namely Lord Halberts champion Aeva, an Anubis, and Unors champion Drunius, a Taumin.

The two fighters meet in the middle of the field and Drunius looks down at the dog-like girl. "Small Champion. Drunius squash you like other enemies." and laughed loudly while the Anubis only huffed and went over to her position while Drunius went to his corner and draws his axes… two large two-handed axes wielded by one hand each.

Aeva blinked at the weapons as the fighters don't see each other between battles, ESPECIALLY the champions. But she knew what to do. Once the announcer shouts them to fight the Taumin roared a battle cry while Aeva concentrated and began to speak out words in a low tone.

Drunius roared and jumped as high as he could to land on his opponent and smash his weapons against her body. However her hand stretches out to her and a thunderbolt shot out of it, hitting his chest and sends him flying.

As he came down, he crashed into the stands, the people barely had time to get out of the way. The eyes were white and smoke rose from the entire body but he was still alive. As barely as it could be.

Raising an eyebrow the Overlord looked at Steadfast, "You already surprised me with using a sorceress in the first round she fought… but I really underestimated how strong she is."

"I got already an idea of her skills as I hired her." smirked the lord. "I bet she will do well in the final rounds."

"We will see." nodded Kuran and turns back to the field where the next round was coming… while Unor was covering her face in shame, not having expected her champion to lose THAT easy.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Next is Lord Marads champion Abigail VS… Sam! The Halfling warrior!" shouts the announcer

"How cute!" smiles the seemly taumin to the Halfling, "Looks like that match is not going well for you!"

"Hah!" shouts Sam while pointing his sword at her, "I will slay you, wear your horns, claim the Overlord's prize and then I will lead the halflings to be the dominant species of the world!" and rushes at her at the very second the fight starts.

Just twenty seconds later…

"And the winner is Abigail! And for future references, the judges ask the consultants to NOT kick the opponents out of the stadium as it will be troublesome for search reams to find out where the halfling ended up after that kick."

"Come on. All I did was just playing a little football with him!" called the "Taumin" up to the announcer, confusing almost everybody in the question what football is.

"Well." chuckles the old Lord, "I knew she has quite some kick in her." and all other groaned at that bad pun.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"It looks like we have a beastly match now!" shouts the Announcer at the stadium, "Because the next two fighters are the Champion of Lady Miona, the Wolfgirl Yvette AND the Skeith Irian! Two women of the field of battle! That sight will not end well!"

"I am a Direwolf." complained the champion to herself, not bothering to tell the world about it, as she figured that they won't even bother to listen. As she saw the two sabre wielding Skeith, she looked over him and smirks, "Quite the beautiful girl, you are… too bad after that match you won't have many feathers left. Else I might have invited you to a drink."

The fellow female chuckles loudly. "Thanks. But I think without fur you wouldn't even leave the room to fetch the drink. As I will layout in front of my bed to keep my feet from the cold ground." before drawing his blades and falls into a fighting position.

Yvette got into a fighting pose as well, not drawing the sword their "Contractors" have given to her as they don't trust her with her real weapon. Thinking of a few obvious weaknesses of her opponent's style and that he gives up its greatest strength she knows what to do for quickly ending the fight without revealing too much about herself like in the previous matches. The need of hiding as much of her fighting ability as possible decide between victory and losses in the final round. The less the potential opponents know the better.

The signal for the fight came and without wasting a single second, the Skeith rushes forward and holds the blades in a way that indicates she is planning to run her through with the blades. Of course, that is just a feint to distract Yvette from the real objective so the Direwolf kept valiant for anything that bird could be planning. And indeed, with just two meters away from her, the Skeith's wings flapped a few times strongly, lifting the bird's body up and she flips once in the air to bring down the blades in an overhead strike.

Jumping back, Yevette lands on her feet at the moment the Skeith slammed on the ground and jumps forward, tackling the Skeith as she stood up and made her fall onto her back, pinning her arms first to prevent the blades to be in play. Then she reared its head back and slams it as hard as she could into her opponents head.

Letting go of the arms, the Skeith, as expected due to the sheer pain, grabbed her head in pain. Yvette ignored her own pain in favour to grab the Skeith throat and cut off her air supply. Fighting against that grab the other girl grabbed Yvette's arms and tried to pull them off but the Direwolf kept her iron grip and only adjusted to keep the centre of weight at Irian's chest, pressing the air out of her.

The struggles continue until the hold of the Skeith weakens and the arms fell to the sides. Letting go quickly, the wolf waited for some more moments to see if her opponent was faking it but once it was clear she is out for the count, she stood up and moves off, giving one kick to cause the body to react in proof the Skeith was still alive.

"I expected more but it was breathtaking all the same!" admitted the Announcer. "The winner is Yvette!"

"I might have underestimated how far she would go…" muttered the Lady while holding her own throat with a dry gulp.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Now time for having once more a snake in our midst." shouted the announcer. "The mage that destroyed the field six times already. Man and woman! Welcome the champion of Lady Ahya of the Nagas! The destructive mage Pherite!" and the naga slithered out onto the field and the people roared as she made quite a light show so far… at the cost of having to remake the battlefields so far.

"On the other side! The champion who won so far without a scratch on his armour or body. The champion of Gnarl, our Overlords Advisor! The oldest Minions living today! Here is Hatroz!"

And the titan stomped out of his gate, moving to his spot and simply crossed his arms. He didn't have a reason to speak until now and won't have a reason to speak soon. The naga only smirked as she knew how that fight will end.

Like the orders of her lady was, the female began to chant a spell made for large groups instead of individual targets. The devastating effect would be the same but would not reveal they could also be dangerous in tight spaces.

Once the chanting was over, several large magic circles appear around Pherite and several crystals shoot out at Hatroz, impacting and exploding, covering the entire arena with dust and properly create, like the previous fights before, a large crater and the victim of the spells barely alive.

Pherite was already turning around as she heard heavy stomping. Widening her eyes, she turned around and only got out a squeak before her tail was grabbed, pulled and her upper body slammed against the ground… before being lifted again and slammed down again.

Hatroz did that a few more times before throwing her as hard as he could against a wall and she broke through it, her tail only twitching after the landing and painful whines. For sure out of the count.

"Well, it seems our invincible giant is once more going up without even a scratch on his clothes! Will anybody put at least a dent on that juggernaut?"

"If there is anybody able to do it." chuckles Gnarl, "Then he or she is certainly not joining the battles today." feeling confident that his choice of a champion wins the day… and quite a large betting pool for his own personal use.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Alright, folks! That's it!" called the Announcer with a voice of Euphory, "Only three more battles of the day! And all three are battles between champions! Which means no matter what, three of the high folks are going to be mad at their champions! Now, who will be disappointed about the result of the next match up? Our great Overlord, or his Mistress Lehid? That's right people! The next fight takes us to the sky! Here are Raven and Cross of the Skeiths!" and the two moved onto the field.

Cross was holding back a sigh as it still didn't get through people who and what she really was… thought, on the other hand, it makes her life a bit easier as only a handful of people really know who she was. A stadium full of people going into panic due to her "demon" status wouldn't be really fun.

She narrows her eyes a bit while tightening her grip on her Guan Dao. She knows that Raven is an experienced warrior, so underestimating him could lead to disaster if she isn't careful. But she doesn't want to show off to much yet, as she needs to save her trump cards for the real challenges that await her… quite the act of balance she has to pull.

Giving a smirk she taunted first, "Isn't it a bit late for an old man like you to be on the field?"

"Can you even properly move with that weight on your chest?" he jested back while twirling his weapon of choice, a mace and falls into a fighting stance.

Cross doesn't like that weapon… even if was rather blunt, it could still be wielded effectively AND if she isn't careful to cause a nasty dent or two in her own weapon. She needs to end that before he could utilize it properly or she has the night to fix her equipment… which would still be a pain.

As the announcer shouts, "Begin!" Cross was jumping forward, flapping her wings hard to shoot towards him, holding her Guan Dao forward as she seemingly tried to run him through with her attack.

Only smirking, Raven opens his wings and… as Cross moved slightly upwards, he jumps forward, rolls under her attack and took into the air, managing to tackle her before she had the chance to turn around and properly think about what he did.

She managed to land on her feet and get in a proper pose to see Ravens next attack in time and sidestep it while whacking his head with her shaft. Grunting in pain he jumped back and the two circled around each other.

Cross was narrowing her eyes. While it was expected that her opponent had the experience, she was surprised by how fit he was even by Skeith standards. If it weren't for her subtle manipulation of the wind, his last adept to strike her would have hit her before she even had a chance to see it coming.

Her past opponents were pushovers so far, so she could hold back a lot. However, she hoped that her luck would hold until the next round. Well… beating up five guys and one woman who had more eyes for her body than her fighting style was too much of luck in one row she figured.

Rolling her shoulders she thought about her next step and she knew Raven was doing the same. Both were aware of the advantages and disadvantages of their weapons. Cross had the far larger reach, but Raven doesn't need precision. And a hit on the right spot can render hers unreliable for the duration of the fight.

She scowled and decided that she is going to drop one of the cards… as much she hates that idea. Lowering down the tip of her weapon, she rushes forward and Raven sidesteps her charge, his fist trying to hit her head.

However what Raven haven't noticed is that Cross had let go of the shaft, freeing her body of the restrictions of such a long body and had ducked under the swing, putting her weight on the arms and swung her legs.

The male didn't know what had happened as he suddenly lost his footing and crashed sideways on the ground. Though what neither he nor anybody except for perhaps Kuran knew, is that in these crucial moments she had her winds aid her to pull that stunt off in a speed that is realistic but not to slow at the same time.

Jumping on him, Cross rolled Raven on the stomach, grabbed one arm and twists it behind his back, rendering him unable to move. The male grunts loudly the pain he is experiencing but didn't protest further or tried to free himself. He knew that grip and knows that with how his wings are positioned right now, he cannot throw her off. For that, he would have to fold first but that move would be way to obvious and give her the time to hit him hard enough to discourage him or knock him out.

So he did the only thing he could, "I yield!" he shouts as loud as he could, so all could hear it.

"Well, people! Looks like our Overlord knew why he picked that redhead! The winner is Cross!" and the people cheered while Cross let go of Raven.

The older Skeith stood up and the two shake hands, while he whispered to her, "You were holding back… I can tell it from experience."

"Would you have preferred to face me at full force?"

"Would have hurt my pride less." he admits before he picked his mace up and began to leave the area.

Picking up her own weapon, she looks back at Raven, "Sorry. But I prefer to keep my trumps in my the sleeve." before starting to leave the stadium.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"That next match is going to be another special one! A predator and a hunter facing off! Who will win? Who will lose! I present you the Champions Trevor and Hama!"

The audience welcomes the two, though not as much as many of the other champions due to the role the two had. One a rouge, the other a ranger. Not the most prominent roles as champions of lords.

Hama shrugged and looks at the Fenek, "Let's have a clean battle. Whoever comes in the next round will have nightmares."

"Thank you… that really encourages me to keep on. The threat of my hands removed if I don't give it my all is a better inspiration then your words."

"Well. You cannot win it all lad." he laughed and took his bow out and one of the non-lethal arrows. For Trevor it was clear: He had to avoid hits from the Ranger at long range while breaking any of the tournament arrows to prevent their reuse during the match. So he could take on the guys with an advantage.

The Fenek was surprised anyway that a Ranger focused on arrows even managed so far due to the obvious limitations of archery. Drawing his two daggers he twirled them once and got ready to fight.

As the signal came he started his first move and dashes forward and was rewarded with a shot from Hama. Using one of his daggers, he spun on the spot and sliced the arrow in half before running forward once more.

Surprised at first of that sudden showcase of skill, the Ranger took the next arrow and shot again, though due to how it was aimed, the Fenek had to jump aside that time to avoid the hit. Taking the third arrow Hama didn't like how it plays out.. he has only a limited amount of arrows before he's only limited to his bow.. and while it is made especially for that tournament, it can only take so much punishment before it would break.

Still not thinking he could lose, the Ranger let loose two more arrows before running towards the Fenek.

The feline had dodged the first one while slicing the second and didn't see the Ranger coming until he barely saw in the corner of the fact, that the bow was racing towards him. Rolling to the side, he avoided being swatted by that thing and rolls some more to avoid a kick. He "lost" one of the daggers on the way and stood up, throwing his fist forward.

Hama wondered why the punch came in such an awkward way before he suddenly had a face full of sand. He stumbles back and tried to get the sand out of his face as felt a sharp pain.

Taking the advantage, Trevor had punched Hama in the stomach, before slamming his knee between the legs.

As his opponents were on the knees, Trevor twirled his dagger and slams the back of it into Hama's head, knocking him out cold.

"Looks like that hunter didn't get the prey that time!" shouts the Announcer. "Winner is Trevor!"

Trevor forced a smile while showing off a little but hold back the wince in knowing that he would be properly facing a brutal beat down if the other champions are anything like that Skeith Chick he happened to see as she beat down one of the other tournament members for trying to be funny to her. He only recently learned she's the Overlords Champion… oh joy

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"The last battle folks! Now we see the final member of our eight finalists for tomorrow's matches! And they are the champions of two non-human lovers of our Overlord! Iskren and Somno!"

With that announcement, the human and the dark elf entered the field and the Dark Elf grins, "The only human champion left in this tournament. I will be happy to kick you out." and draws her dual swords and twirled them a little.

Drawing his own sword, Iskren holds a relaxed state with both swords on his one, stating, "Quite the claim… but can you back it up?"

"Oh I will prove it to you." she smirked and once the signal came she dashes forward and only a second later they locked blades.

They stood there for several seconds before separating and jump again to clash. The two exchanged blows. While the dark elf had two weapons she is skillfully using, Iskren had the advantage that he only has to coordinate his body movements to one weapon. She has to always pay attention to where both weapons are and in which direction she is holding them.

Also, he is at a disadvantage as he has to use both hands on his swords to get greater leverage on her strikes to not being hit by the other blade.

In short, it is a battle of endurance here. And he has to pull something off to distract her or he would lose as this dark elf is definitely long term trained in her style. That champion was chosen by a reason.

As she jumped to perform a forward flip to bring down both of her blades at once with great momentum, Iskren saw his chance and rolled forward to avoid the attack. As she spun around, he shot one arm forward and shot a fireball. The hot projectile came too fast for her to move aside so she had to use both blades to block it. She stumbles slightly as, while the spell wasn't that strong, she was not properly balanced for the hit and gave the opening the human needed.

He got close and swung his blade, cutting her arm and forced her to let go of her blade, rendering also said arm useless due to the wound.

It wasn'T something permanent but a serious enough wound to render the arm useless and in need of attention. As both know that fact, the dark elf came back in a flurry. Iskren defended himself but soon realized his opponent relied strongly on the dual wield and haven't properly trained with only one arm… and that is what gave him what he needed. As he caught the blade in a good angle, he forced a twist and catapulted the blade of the dark elf off and before she could react, his tip was pointing at her throat.

Gulping she raised her arms and called, "I yield!" realizing she has no chance anymore.

"This was it, folks! Now we have at least one human champion left in our tournament. Now we know who is still fighting tomorrow and I hope I will see the lot of you again!" shouts the announcer and the crowd was cheering for Iskren, who only thought himself that it will be a fun day with the only human opponent he can hope for being a pirate as far he was able to tell. Each of the others will be a pain to fight against in his opinion. Well. It could be worse. With that, he began to leave the stadium while some rushed in to tend the wound of the dark elf.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Well, that was it for today." mused the Overlord "And except for that pirate girl, we have only champions in the final rounds tomorrow."

"Indeed." smiles Lehid, "While Raven lost, it was at least against your champion… so no shame here."

"Was that a hit against Arlene?" giggled Sunkrem, "After all, her champion lost in the very first fight of the day. People will laugh about that in the next few months… wouldn't be surprised to even find a song. But again… I picked my champion upon the first impression without seeing a fight of him… he could have lost in the very first round as well."

"You had at least a few thousand years of experience in judging people." sighs Arlene while rubbing her head. "I only picked by reputation… the best knight. Should have known why he wasn't involved in the fights."

"Everybody makes mistakes in judging people." assured Lord Marad while placing a hand on her shoulder. "At least your mistake in judging people didn't cost many people's lives…"

"Thank you Lord Marad." sighs the queen and stood up, holding her stomach. "I hope I give birth soon… that extra weight isn't good for my back."

"I could give you a potion that eases the trouble." offered the Alchemist to her and she considered his offer…

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Gnarl was smirking and chuckling. So far his plan was working... now it is only a matter if his champion wins tomorrow or not. Though for both cases he has a plan to work upon. And then after that day… his master is learning about a simple detail Gnarl has found out recently.

"Very good so far. Once I tell the master, our efforts of getting the business down with the Skeiths and Naga's will be increased." and looks at the fields again. "Of course it would be even faster if I tell now. But seeing the faces of those Lords that their champions are defeated by mine will be just too wonderful… and I hope that this Succubus will be crushed by him. I don't like it that the master is so friendly with this red-feathered demon." and began to leave. "At least they don't show any signs of her becoming one of his mistresses… that would be a nightmare." and shuddered at the thought of Cross living constantly in the tower… or worse her having children with the master. That would be a nightmare incarnate in his mind.


	2. The Tournament Part 2

The next day, everybody was gathering in the coliseum once more. As Overlord Kuran arrived together with Unor a little later as the rest… and given their grins, nobody had really had to guess what happened, as the two were after all known lovers.

Looking over the group the Overlord notes, "Where is Arlene?"

"The queen isn't feeling well today." explained Marad, and shrugged. "Though I am not sure if it is due to her pregnancy or that her champion lost in the very first fight of the entire tournament."

"Me think, combination of both." mused Unor while rubbing her chin. "Would not surprise me."

"True." Kuran agreed and heads towards the balcony where the roars of the people came and almost deafens them.

He shakes his head to that and waved to the people to greet them. The people roared once more and the announcer began to work hard to get the people to calm down else they couldn't proceed with the tournament. After they were finally calmed down, the Announcer called, "Welcome back to the tournament! At the end of this day, we will know who is worth being called the champion of our kingdom!"

An uproar followed those words and once it calmed down the announcer continued. "And to kick start today's events, the first fight is something special: the only non-champion left in this tournament versus the champion of our overlord self! Here are Anastasia and Cross!" And the people cheered as the two walked into the arena, Anastasia leaning her umbrella simply over her shoulder, while Cross had her weapon in a lax position. Both waved to the crowd and Anastasia grinned to Cross, "Another bird? How many feathers do I have to cut these fights?"

"Like today, none, as I will remove you from the field before you get a hit in!" Countered Cross, pointing her Guan Dao against her opponent.

"Don't cry if you lose like the other three I beat yesterday." smiles the pirate and points forwards Cross with her umbrella."

"Looks like the banter is running to its fullest now!" Called the announcer. "But we're not here to watch people talk! We're here to watch them fight! So let's not waste any more time! Let these women fight!" And in a chorus, the announcer and the crowd began to chant, "Three! Two! One! Fight!"

Just as she began most of her fights, Anastasia opened her umbrella, threw it into the air and pulled on the handle to pull out the hidden blade. Though she had to duck down in an instant as Cross had dashed over to her and tried to stab the human with her own weapon. Both were surprised by each other. Anastasia about how quick her opponent came for an attack, while Cross was surprised on how quick the human was able to react on the incoming attack, as she moved the second this girl was drawing her blade. A movement that looks fancy but costs precious seconds within combat.

As the succubus warrior soared over the human due to the momentum in the attack, Cross realized a mistake of her own and tried to cap her wings to get out. However, it was too late. Using the quick thinking that sowed the dodge, Anastasia used the crouched pose of hers to move up quickly and her head slammed into Cross stomach, knocking the wind out of her, sending her tumbling on the ground.

The red bird grunts in great pain due to the crash landing and the only reason her wings didn't snap on the applied force, caused by the uncontrolled rolling and crashing on the ground, was her demonic nature. Cross knew if she were a simple Skeith, her advantage of flight would be gone. Not to mention the pain rendering her unable to continue in any form.

Narrowing her eyes as she got back on her feet, Cross cursed herself a bit for underestimating her opponent. She managed after all to get this far. And beat a couple of Skeith along the way. That human knows how to deal with a flying enemy. And as such of course means Cross needs to cut loose a bit. More than her last fight.

Anastasia, on the other hand, had her umbrella back and had a stance that holds her blade ready while the umbrella can act as a shield. If it were any other opponent, she would have taunted Cross for sending in the dirt so easily. However, that red bird was the chosen champion of the Overlord. And this means she must have skills recognized by him. And as such that red one could have held back so far.

Hiding her Guan Dao ready, Cross walked closer before circling with her opponent, each of them looking for an opening of the other. As they moved with controlled movements and breathing, both planned how to move against each other, trying to guess how the other would move and plan according to that, while being g weary about any other plan they might have.

Anastasia was the first to move and threw her umbrella, making it spin while it flew against Cross. Acting quickly, the winged girl deflects the projectile with a quick spin of their Guan Dao and holds it to prepare out of experience and combat instinct for an incoming jab of the human's sword. Cross, however, had underestimated the wit of the girl once more and had to use her winds to allow her to move.

Having pulled out her gun, Anastasia had grabbed it the moment her umbrella was sent away to the "Skeith" and aimed up, shooting the bullet against her opponent. However Anastasia was surprised by a sudden peak of wind in the arena and to her surprise, Cross managed to tilt her body just in time to watch the bullet narrowly missing her head, hitting the wall at the other side.

Frozen in surprise Anastasia had to take a moment to realize what just happened, but once her mind connected the dots, she had a small sense of panic and tried to wind some distance… But that was futile. Cross rushed in with unseen speed and swung her weapon. The human could only jump back to prevent being cut in half, but still slices over the body, leaving a nasty wound, sending the human on her back. Groaning in pain she didn't try to move as it would only hurt more… And the blood loss would properly and her faster than that Bird girl could.

Seeing her opponent incapacitated, Cross relaxed and hold her Guan Dao loosely on her side. That match was over, no doubt.

"Well, folks! With that, only the champions of our lords are still in the race! But who would have dared to place their bets against the one chosen by our overlord?" Wondered the announcer, "Because those will be sore losers now! The winner is Cross!" And the crowd cheered about the grand victory, while a couple of minions went to Anastasia to pick her up and transport her over to the infirmary.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Cross was sitting in her cabin, having a rest from the fight as she made herself to be one of the last four combatants of this tournament. While she had no idea who the other three will be, she got a solid clue about one who would join her in the semifinals.

Hearing a knock on the door, she turned her head and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me Cross!" Were the reply of a male voice and Cross gave a smile as she recognized it.

"It is open, Kuran!" And she watched as the door opened and her friend came in. "What brings the mighty Overlord in my room today?"

"It is about your last opponent, Anastasia."

"Want to pick a bone with me to let her dominate me at the beginning?" Mused Cross while leaning back in her chair.

"Nope! Your honest opinion about her. She impressed me with how she managed to get you twice. I bet if you were anybody lesser, she would be the one waiting here now." Explained the overlord. "And as we are seeking a captain for the first combat-oriented ship of our fleet and found out her reputation as a pirate, I would like your first-hand experience on her."

"You want her as captain?" Retorts Cross in surprise and shakes her head. "While I cannot speak for her loyalty and if she would follow you but if she can keep these wits and skill she showed me, then she is a good choice in a fighting standpoint… Not to mention how long she managed to keep in this tournament. While most participants were human at the beginning, towards the end mostly beast people, elves and a few orcs reached the later rounds, except for her and that other human."

"Will you use that to point out how humans are inferior to others?" Wondered Kuran.

Cross murred, "Sound so, right? But now… Most who came here were morons who cannot understand their art. Of either species. True if it comes to pure things, like strength or agility your species is as average as it can get. Your strength is that you can pull off versatility without a true loss. While many others struggle with it. A taumin is strong but struggles at the higher range of magic. The Skeith dominates the sky but cannot take many hits. And so on. Such one on one battles with set rules is just the worst case for men. But everything goes… There you can be terrifying if played right… And with a competent leader. Here is a reason why of ten masters of minions, nine will be human."

Then she chuckled, "But back to the topic. She showed the skills and Wits to get as far as she could and pushed me surprisingly well. If you can win for your forces, that would be a win."

"Thank you for sharing this with me." He replied to her with a nod. "Before I leave: Ahya is asking you to meet her after the tournament. One of her nagas will pick you up."

Cross wondered what this grand mage of the nagas wants from her. Probably blood or something else from her body. As they take anything from magical beings that promised to be good magical ingredients. Without killing the origin of said ingredients as they believe if they, for example, kill a demon for its heart, it would only have a worth as an alchemic ingredient. But not for their mix of technology and magic.

That's why they make constant deals with different immortal beings, as they know that the risk of the parts losing their worth is slim. Looking at Kuran, Cross told him, "I will come but if she tries something, don't complain about a wrecked room."

"Of course." laughs Kuran and turns around, "See you later." And left the room. Cross took the half-forgotten glass of wine and sipped it, musing how things got a curious turn. Though she will hate the part of finding fitting words for this.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Well, folks! Be it a civil war or a tournament, if friends join on different sides they might end up fighting each other! And here we have it: two friends fighting in the same of different Lord's: Abigail and Yvette!" And with that, the girls move in under the cheers of the people.

As the two got close enough to talk Abigail chuckles, "Well, at least one of us gets to the half finale."

Yvette nodded in return, "Then we should really look to make a good show for them." while cracking her hands with a smirk.

Licking her lips, Abigail dropped in a fighting position and smirks, "I am not letting you win out of going easy on you."

"I would be insulted if I won just because you let me." chuckles the wolf.

Then the two fall into a fighting stance. As they kept the pose the announcer declared the fight to begin.

And that was as the two exploded into action.

Abigail was the first to act by punching the air several times, sending a burst of thunderbolts against Yvette.

The Taumin hits the ground with her fist and a dome surrounds her and the thunderbolts, once they were inside the 10 meters wide area, bolted around before flying back at the wolf.

Yipped in Surprise, she jumps over her own bolts and dashes around the dome, keeping a distance from its outermost circle.

Watching the movements, Yvette watches her opponent and keeps the war hammer given to her for the battles ready.

She tapped with her hood the ground while counting in her head and once she saw the wolf once more entering her field of vision, she jumped forward. Almost flying literally and swung her hammer. "Got you!"

A shout of surprise-filled by a gasp of pain and knocked out wind came from Abigail before being launched into the air.

Yvette stomped the ground once and a new dome appeared, covering almost 50 meters this time and jumped, speeding up in the entire jump, shoots out of the dome and towards the unfortunate wolf. "To bad you're not Thor with all that thunder!" Smirks the girl.

Abigail yipes as she saw the hammer swinging again… and narrowly missed her due to a misjudged timing from Yvette.

That saved her from being catapulted out of the arena. But once they fall down and enter the left behind dome off Yvette… Abigail knew she would be only a play ball inside the dome and has no chance of escaping it. That is why she didn't jump directly at Yvette at the beginning of the battle.

That straightforward approach played her friend right in the hands… and now it seems her plan prevailed anyway. Abigail had already wondered why Yvette hadn't tried to kick her out of the stadium with the blow that sent her up. Now she has a clue… and an idea.

Straighten up, she accelerated her falling speed. Seeing this, Yvette tried for the other blow but much to the "Taumins" surprise, Abigail caught the hammer, even if it knocked the air out of her once more.

Yvette wondered for a moment what the wolf was planning before she remembers that her weapon was issued by her "contractor" and is lacking something. She had to let go of this thing instantly.

However...bit was too late and Abigail released as much electricity as she could, sending it through the metallic and not isolated weapon, straight into Yvette's hands and body shocking her entirely.

She screams in the pain, her dome collapsing as she could no longer concentrate on maintaining it.

Both females let go of the weapon, one due to the shock, the other due how much it took to unleash so much thunder at once. The two crashed down on the ground and didn't move… the crowd held their breath. The announcer wasn't able to tell what was going on…

But then… both twitches. But only one raised… forcing herself on the knees. A grin of victory crossed her lips. Throwing back her head she released a shout of victory.

"We have a winner! Abigail is the one still on the knees" applied the announcer and the people confirmed it and roared in favour of her.

On the balcony, Marad and Samuel looked down and the elder of the two chuckled, "Well we have now to hold our end of the bargain."

"Indeed… quite the surprise that they had to fight each other at this round"

"You both knew that this could happen." countered Lady Miona

Lord Medin nods, "True… though it seems our wolf will probably be the only champion left from our three for the semi finale"

Samuel looks at his fellow Lord, "That little faith in that magic dog?"

"Too many uncertainties about Gnarls champion." Was his reply to the lord and stroked his beard.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Kuran looked at the schedule of the next fight and scratches his head, having a feeling of how it would end in this case. Though he heard something and turned around, finding Rodin standing there, smoking as usual. "Did something happen? I am still on schedule regarding killing the big monsters that you want."

"That isn't why I am here. True only four more left but I am here regarding something else." Was Rodin's reply while moving over to Kuran and sat down on the seat reserved for Silver and looked at the Overlord through his sunglasses. Did this guy ever take them off?

Putting the schedule away he folds his hands and asks, "Then what is the reason for your sudden appearance?"

"Quite simple! I like to borrow some of your minions. I have a small rodent problem thanks to a rather unruly customer and while I could deal with it easily, the work to clean up would be quite a mess afterwards."

It took quite some willpower to not grin. With rodent problem, he properly speaks about Ghoul Rats… a semi demonic version of normal rats. As far the Overlord knows, the only two ways to get rid of them is either to blow the infested area sky high with demon fire. But that kind of fire needs a year at least to put out under best condition.

Or kill the rats on a constant rate until they decide the positive living conditions there is not worth the energy and time to reproduce/respawn -Kuran is not sure if their persistence stems from either or both abilities of the rats - needed to keep up the infestation rate necessary to gather food.

Given Rodin properly doesn't want to make the money and time he put into his bar go to waste, it is smart to get something that loves to smash them… or at least smashing in general.

"Since we're business partners… how many do you need and how do you plan to compensate for giving you that many. And properly the replacement that will be needed."

He took a breath from his smile and simply states, "First of all I would owe you a favour. As for real compensation: I need 20 minions on a constant level. And until that rodent problem is gone, for each day passing, I pay you with fifty gold."

Kuran took that offer in mind… the gold offer isn't much. The Zoll tax would bring at least ten times more daily. That favour, however, is the real prize. And given the reputation…

Offering a hand Kuran grinned, "You got yourself a deal."

Taking the hand Rodin nods, "Good. Given you're busy today, I will fetch the rodent killers tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow." said the Overlord… but Rodin was already gone. "He could have said goodbye at least…"

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"This time around, we ask the question: will it be a hunt or an outfoxing! The fighters of this round of the quarter-finals are Aeva and Trevor!" And the two walked into the field.

As they met at the starting point, the two simply stood there and didn't say a thing. Trevor simply draws his blades and thought about his opponent and what he knows about her. Aside from a strong spell caster he had nothing. But that at least gave him an idea about his priorities.

Aeva on the other hand also concludes that her opponent is fast nimble and has no magic. The latter works for her but she has to watch out for the other two traits of his. Given her training experience with Yvette. She cupped her hand and gathered magic power to cast a spell the second the fight began. The only thing that worries her is that she couldn't fully predict him due to him not being her friend, thus only knows what she can read on his body language and what she heard.

The word "fight" was shouted and Trevor shot forward, sprinting towards Aeva. The jackal shot her hand out, "Ice spear!" and as the name suggested, a spear made of ice shot out of her hand and straight at Trevor.

And she spreads her arms and two more spears shoot at him. The fox, however, jumped as the three projectiles came closer over them, performed a somersault and landed back on his feet before continuing his dash.

Caught by surprise, Aeva stepped back, having expected he would try to jump to a side, hence why the two more spears to stop him there on his tracks.

And before she could think further, she had to jump back as well, to avoid a slash at her stomach of the two daggers of him, narrowly escaping that strike as she could feel some of her fur being cut, leaving a nasty and deep wound on her stomach. Biting down the pain, Aeva isn't going to step down and shoot a couple of fireballs at him. Those strikes however were all acrobatically avoided by Trevor as he continued his dash towards Aeva once more, holding each of his daggers in reverse grip. She took the chance to press her hands on the wound and used a fire spell to burn it, wincing the pain.

She could properly heal it, but in the middle of combat, she lacks the time for the proper spell. So that has to do for now.

The jackal was sure that her opponent was planning to dash past her and strike her side. But she doesn't let it happen. She threw two balls at once, her hands held together and a ball of energy formed between them, and as Trevor jumped over the two thrown fire projectiles, was the Jackals call, "Freeza!" and threw the energy ball at the ground, freezing the ground between her and the still airborne Trevor and as his eyes widened he tried to adjust his fall to not land on the ice.

The adept was futile and he slipped at the very moment he touched the ice, landing on the ground and knocking all the air out. And only seconds later he was crying in pain as a bolt of thunder struck his place. Kicking dust-up, the people couldn't see him anymore.

But as it cleared… he was lying on his back, groaning in pain and twitching from the thunder still coursing through his body.

"Well, that hunt was a loss for the fox! The winner is Aeva!" declared the announcer.

"Nothing against you. But you were out of your league." stated the Jackal with simple words.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"As surprising as it sounds people," called the Announcer, "This is properly our first time we see here a proper sword fight between two partitioners for this day. And now it is time to let the blade speak their language! Let us greet Hatroz and Iskren!" and the people roared at the two as they moved into the field.

Iskren looked up at his opponent and was weary. The size alone was challenging, a Taumin and that large sword on the back was surely not for the decorations.

Not to mention that array of throwing knives. Oh, joy.

As he drew his sword, Hatroz laughed, "Another one trying to defeat me with just a bladed weapon?" And draws his sword, from design a two-handed weapon… but wields it with only one hand. Much to Iskren growing irritation. "I have to consider if I let you hit me first so you can leave that field with any indignity you might have left after the battle."

"Big words from a big guy." Iskren deadpans while holding his own sword ready. If it were up to him he wouldn't even face that guy. All his senses told him NOT to take that guy lightly.

They waited and as the signal to begin came, the human didn't waste any time and rushed forward, his blade held ready to strike towards Hatroz.

The Titan laughs, "Come and see how futile your actions are!" And spread his arms in a welcoming gesture. "You will be crushed like all who dared to fight me!" And once the human got closer, the Titan reared his arm back and punched.

Iskren avoided a direct impact narrowly but the force that hit the ground as his opponent tried to punch him and missed was enough to send a shockwave that, in turn, send Iskren flying.

Landing on the back with a pained groan, he forced himself up and rubs his head in pain.

Laughing Hatroz stomps over to Iskren and reared his fist back again for a punch. Thinking quickly the human threw forward his hand shouting "Fireball!" And caught Hatroz off guard as the hot magic came, and covered with his hand the burned part of his face.

Seeing a chance, Iskren stood up and runs behind the Titan and slams his blade into the legs, and with a strong pull out, cutting over half of the muscle open, spraying the blood over the field. And even after the attack, more blood poured out while Hatroz was unable to support his weight anymore.

Shouting in even more pain he drops on a knee and turns his body as good as he could and found Iskren holding his sword at the throat. "Give up!" Declared the human, "You are beaten."

"Your claim has a weakness human." snorts Hatroz and Iskren were suddenly grabbed by the Titan on the head, lifted up. "That your assumption that I cannot move anymore is wrong!" And squeeze hard, causing Iskren to shout a muffled cry of pain before being slammed on the ground hard, followed by an even harder slap on his place.

Hatroz stared at the broken form of Iskren.

Barely breathing but alive. Even with all the sounds must-have in the insides and outsides.

Looking at his own cut leg the Titan grunts annoyed. That wound will incapacitate him even in the coming fight.

"Be happy." He growled to Iskren, "Your action allows that witch to have a chance to annoy me even further."

Before forcing himself up and using his sword as a walking stick as he left the battlefield.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Good afternoon dear people! Now the real excitement is starting!" Roared the announcer, "Only three more fights and we have our champion! Now, of course, we first have to settle who face off in the final battle! And as such, we need the decision of our remaining four fighters! And the first two are Abigail and Cross! Applause for those two to reach that far!"

Under the even louder roars, the two participants moved on the field and Abigail cracked her hands with a smirk, "Time to get your feathers trimmed!"

"For a Taumin you talk well." mused Cross and spins her weapon ready, "But still I take your horns!"

"Oh, I am NOT a Taumin! But I will show you the difference soon." moped Abigail and crackled with some energy to show off.

Which Cross took note to watch out for in the fight.

The two stared at each other until the signal came. Abigail was the first to act and jumped forward. Intending to slam her fist with a dose of thunder into the red bird. Said bird, however, saw this coming and waited. Then she dashes forward and swung her weapon. The other had to twist in the air to avoid being cut. Though it brought her out of her landing strategy and slams painfully on the ground.

Then the two rushed at each other again and met. Cross had adapted to swing in for a bit but Abigail managed to block it with her arm just below the blade.

Cross, on the other hand, had to use her winds to step to the side and still felt some of the thunder punch of her opponent as the fist passed next to her head.

"You're fast." acknowledges Abigail, "But you lack the strength to harm."

"You have the strength but lack the speed for meaningful hits." countered Cross with a smirk and the two began to dance.

Cross and Abigail moved close to each other. The succubus warrior displayed her speed but her weapons of choice weren't optimal for close combat and couldn't set up any strong hits or exploit weak points. The Taumin on the other side could properly take out Cross with a few hits thanks to the thunder powered attacks but the agile and fast bird keeps avoiding any meaningful hits, only landing with minor attacks or feints.

However, both knew sooner or later one of them would make a mistake, breaking the stalemate and allowing the other to land a devastating combo.

While Cross was certain she could win out that waiting game as her opponent wasted more energy with each attack, she wasn't sure if her endurance could take that. Even the weak hits she allowed to connect hurt and shock her body to a degree. In the current situation, she simply lacks the damage output to keep up. She had to change tactics and she knew how.

Dodging under a strong jab, she used her coached position and jumps as high she could and spread her wings to get higher and stay airborne.

Before being able to take a breath however, Cross was faced by a multitude of strikes of thunder thrown at her. Cursing the fact that she had no way for a direct counterattack, she circles in the air a few times before diving to the ground and lands on her feet and blocks a couple of attacks with her Guan Dao before calling out, "How about we settle that with one last strike?"

Abigail stopped her long-range attacks and considered the offer before calling back, "Alright! At the same time!"

"Agree!" Confirm Cross and both went on a pose. Cross gathered wind behind her, while Abigail charged electricity into her fist and rears it back while charging.

The two stared at each other while preparing their attacks… the air grows thick and not a single soul dared to speak. Not a clear view of how the two would know when to start.

A cloud began to cover the sun and the two females shouted, "Now!" Before speeding towards each other.

Abigail roared as she gotta dashes and the jump, eager to punch that overpowered attack into Cross face. With the help of the gathered wind, Cross shoots forward, her weapon held behind her.

The two came close to each other then suddenly Cross changed the way she carried into the attack, spinning around herself and her Guan Dao hold outward. Caught in Surprise, Abigail tried to adjust or at least catch the weapon. However, the reaction was too slow. The long weapon connects with the flat side on her stomach, knocking the air out. And the concentration to hold the energy in her fist. But Cross wasn't done. She screamed as she carried on. Using the momentum she builds while pushing as much strength as possible out of her protesting arm she catapults the taumin into the sky.

Abigail flew a large arc and crashlands in the stands. Groaning she stood up, seeing the shocked people around her and sighs. "A ring out."

"Indeed!" smirks Cross but then.. she frowns as she notices her weapon. The force she had shown was enough to bent it. Not to mention the burning sensation in her arms. "That sucks…"

"And the winner is Cross! Now the first of our final candidates for the championship is known! Who will be her opponent? Who will challenge her? We will know after the next fight!" and the people roared in approval.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"One fighter for the finale is now decided! Time to see who will be the other one!" roared the Announcer. "So it is time for Hatroz and Aeva to face off in the field of honour!"

And the two were welcomed with loud roars. Aeva noted on her way that her opponent was humping a little and thought that should make her fight a little easier… given he was holding that giant two-handed sword with just one hand with ease.

"So you puny dog are my next opponent? I don't know if I should laugh or be disappointed as this will be so much easier for me to win against!" he declared loudly.

"Underestimate your opponents and you will fall hard. And as you're so big, you will fall harder!" teases the jackal with a grin and let some sparks of a thunder spell dance between her hands as a pre-battle warning. To which the Titan only laughs as he isn't taking the smaller girl seriously.

And the two got ready to fight. And then the Announcer shouted "Start!" and Aeva started instantly to charge a spell while Hatroz was simply charging for ending that fight.

However before he could reach her, she shouts "Thunderbolt!" and a pure bolt of electricity shot out of her hands, hitting the Titan. She only intends to push him back for a different spell… but she miscalculated the strength and instead of pushing him back, the spell shot straight through the body.

Hatroz stepped back from the attack and stared at the hole of his chest before looking back at her. Narrowing his eyes he snarls "You will pay for that!"

"You spoke? With that hole?" Aeva shouts in shock, and steps back and her mind races to why that guy isn't dropping dead right now. Her mind was racing in pure terror at this moment, giving the Titan time to swing his blade and slap her with the flat side hard, sending her across the battlefield and straight into a wall.

She didn't cry as the pain numbed her too greatly to allow her even basic reactions to any sort of feeling for that moment. Collapsing on the ground she groaned as she forces herself up and spits out some blood. "That… is bad." she muttered.

And had to roll aside to be not impaled by a throwing dagger… scratch that. This thing was at the size of a gladius.

"Scratch bad." she stated and forced herself on the feet and raised her arm up "SHAZAM!"

Everything went silent as she shouted the word, waiting for the spectacular event that word promised.

But nothing happened…

"What?" Asks Aeva in shock "That… cannot be!" And rose her arm once more "Shazam! SHAZAM! SHAZAM!" Pouring every into her shouts but still, nothing happened.

"You were planning to rely on the blessings of the Egypt gods I presume" laughed Hatroz, still with this hole in the chest, which irritates Aeva as that guy spoke clearly without any kind of trouble. "Sorry to tell you, but in this dimension… there are no Egyptian deities. Only those who bear a resemblance but this was it. Not enough to call that power you believe to have access to!"

Cursing to that, Aeva runs her mind how to compensate for the sudden loss of her trump card… and mentally slapping herself for not bothering to check if she had access to it.

"Anyway! Time to end this game. It's getting boring!" And stomps towards her.

The jackal runs her mind even faster to find a solution for her situation and bit her lip. How to deal with an immortal guy! That hole in the chest proves he cannot… be killed… but harmed anyway!

Acting on that small detail she threw fireballs at her opponent, as many as she could and the only thing he did as the defensive move was to raise his blade and Shields his face.

As the fireballs ended, he moved his sword aside and laughed at her, "Already dry from spellcasting? How dis-" and stopped as he felt something odd about his legs. Looking down he blinked and suddenly he fell off his own legs.

Rolling on his back he inspected the cut on said legs and snarled, "High-pressure air magic? Oh, you will pay for that!" And felt a draft around his neck… which is shortly followed by Aeva placing her hands on his head.

"Once you reattach we can talk about it." She simply replied and lifts his head off… and shot it with a strong wind spell out of the arena. As the body was now feeling for the legs and head.

"Well, folks! While Hatroz could still fight, running around like a headless chicken, looking for the head won't be any spectacular. So by headless default, the winner is Aeva!" And the people roared in applaus As reply as the jackal was leaving the area.

Gnarl grunts disappointed at the results, "Well… time for plan B." and turns around. He got a head to find.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

"Folks! This is it! The last battle… the final clash of two individuals seeking glory. But only one will carry the victory!" States the announcer, "Will it be the red flurry, the incarnation of wind furies, the champion of our Overlord, Cross?" And the crowd roared as she moved onto the field. "Or will it be the wild dog, the jackal of magic and the champion of Lord Halbert, Aeva?" And the jackal was greeted with a familiar roar as she went onto the field.

On the field, Aeva wasn't fooled for a second. Her opponent may look like a Skeith but she can tell that the red one is a demoness. It's in her magical aura. But Aeva couldn't tell what kind. That put her in a predicament. She knows spells against demons but she needs to use one fine-tuned to the type of demon or the excess energy could do anything and that includes outright killing her or any number of people. Too weak and it was like poking a rock giant with a toothpick.

Cross was in a familiar predicament. She knows that her opponent is a powerful mage… but with no real idea how far this power went or how many spells she knows. The succubus warrior was sure in terms of endurance and physical damage she is outdoing her… but what good it helps if Cross is stopped in the tracks with effective counterspells? She could overpower a couple of them properly but if she isn't looking out, she might cut that Jackal in half.

Both began to strategize against each other, trying to take everything into account they could think off.

The difficulty lies in one simple fact: They have only limited knowledge about the other. So they settle with a simple plan to start with and then move from there.

Once the signal came, Cross sprints forward, the blade of her long weapon lowered down and eyes on her target.

On the other side, Aeva reacted quickly and shot five fireballs randomly in her direction, forcing her to stop the attack and threw herself on the back to avoid the fireballs. But not before throwing her Guan Dao hard.

Yelping loudly, the Jackal jumps aside and still earned a deep cut, hissing in pain from her late reaction. Clenching it she was glad it wasn't bleeding and turned around to look at Cross.

Who was back at her on her feet and rushing against the Jackal. Reacting quickly, Aeva shot several of her ice spikes against the red one who seemed to jump out of the way without losing the momentum that caused her to create a Thunderball… and let it erupt on the ground, catapulting and shocking both of them. Aeva grunts in pain and shakes her head, her mind calculating how to counter that speed without shocking herself each time.

On the other hand, Cross was not moving for a bit aside from the shaking as she was dealing with the numbing feeling that sudden shockwave caused her. But soon she was back on her feet and ready. Only to discover her opponent used the time well.

Soon she was shooting around the area, avoiding magical blasts sent by the Jackal, who was surrounded by dozens of magic circles that acts as the source of the barrage. Cross zipping around caused the magicians by the crowds to work overtime to avoid the people being hit by the massive magic attacks.

The succubus warrior had trouble not getting hit by all those shots and couldn't find any shooting pattern… no shooting pattern…

Then an idea hit her and she knows exactly how to turn the events for her favour. At first, she flew higher into the air to ensure her flying allowed her decent dodges without exerting herself too much while the Jackal had to hold her barrage very precise for a chance of hitting her.

Once in position, she began to concentrate while flying around to aim at the ground locked sorcerer harder to prepare her own strike. Her trump card of that fight.

Though she notes something… that the magical barrage had stopped. Looking down she saw that Aeva was trying to cast a bigger spell, or to be precise a summon spell. Not wanting to risk what kind of summon her opponent had to access to, she dives down in high speed and angles her attack that she would tackle her opponent with quite a force.

Her timing, however, was as off as it could be… the summoning circle appears and from the design, it was a demon that gets called. Changing her direction. Cross lands close to her weapon, rolled on the ground once, grabs it and was only as a second later back on the feet, ready to fight.

The Demon portal opens and a Behemoth of six meters appears and roared challenging. Its mighty wings were large enough to devastate the stands. The muscles are the only thing that seems to cover the entire body. Even the red skin must be muscles. The large black horns had a fire on their tips.

The demon stomped once with its hoofs and fixed his yellow eyes on Cross… its mouth opens slightly, revealing white and sharp fangs.

Then…

Its jaw dropped, and turned around Aeva, took a small scroll out of its pockets and tossed it over.

The jackal caught it confused, looking at it before looking back at the demon. "I don't know why you fight her! But if you survive, I owe you one free summon! But I am definitely NOT going to get my head ripped off by the Succubus Warrior!" and slashes the air, creating a new portal and jumps in, quickly closing it.

Cross and Aeva looked at first at the spot where the Demon had left and then at each other.

"Well…" began Aeva, "That was awkward."

"I can only agree." nods Cross, "So… should I fly back up, leave my Guan Dao here and pretend that didn't happen?"

Aeva looks at the scroll, draws a magic circle in the air that opens to a pocket dimension and placed the scroll for safekeeping in. "I think I… appreciate it." while she was stunned by what happened. Who is that Skeith-like girl that a demon of this calibre runs away at the second he saw her?

Dropping her weapon once more in sportsmanship she flew up high and angled herself at roughly the same position as before and looks down… and groans as she saw that Aeva had already cast a new spell, "As expected." and smirks, having already taken the chance to prepare her own party trick and spreads her fingers to summon fire in her hands.

Though what happened next caught Cross off guard. She had expected a lot but not that her enemy would use a spell to break the ground apart in her surroundings and reshape the pieces into spikes that shoot in her at high speed. Or at such a speed that dodging will be a pain.

She thought quickly and found her solution.

Aeva looked up as her spell took as much of her surrounding ground as she could support and not endanger the building. After hearing from her running away summon she is dealing with a succubus, the Jackal reasoned she could pack out a stronger spell without risking life.

At first sight, her plan seems to work… but suddenly her stone spikes were met with a fire tornado that wrecked those coming too close to it… and it was mostly the ones that could have hit Cross. So she chants her spell, changing a few properties. It would be a pain to maintain the control and give a sufficient amount of Mana but it was worth it.

A smaller amount of spikes shot in the air but they flew around the fire tornado to aim directly at the flying enemy. Aeva grinned as the one in the air was dodging and avoiding her attack, each trying to hit her getting closer to get her. Though as they finally got her cornered, a wall of fire erupts from Cross and pushes against her guided spikes. Aeva gulped as the spell she used was rather unstable in nature and with the fire mixed in…

As she had feared, a large explosion covered the sky and she had to shield herself from the shockwave, the light and the dust, closing her eyes shut for a moment.

As the turbulence died down she looked at the sky and the clearing smoke… but no sight of Cross.

"Did we pulverize her?" She wondered, though a sudden wind from behind confused her and turned around.

The eyes shot upon but couldn't do anything as Cross slammed into Aeva like a speeding train and sent the Jackal at the wall, crashing and destroying a part of it.

Aeva had her air knocked out of her and her entire body was a mix of surging pain and numbness and the last thing she registered was a sound of breaking bones as she collapsed and blacked out.

Panting stood Cross in the middle of the field and smirks, raising her fist in the air and the crowd roared at her victory. They chanted her name while the announcer roared, "And we have a winner! Cross is our champion!" And the chanting continues as she holds her fist up and begins to leave while paying her attention to the crowd… while smiling awkwardly as she thought to herself, "Thank goddess that adrenaline is such a pain-killer." While glancing to her side… where one spike of stone was stuck there. "That will leave a mark." and didn't pull it out…

The crowd may think it is proof of how she is unstoppable but Cross knows the moment that spike is removed the wound must be taken care for asap. And she prefers it with healers ready than having then rushed out… some are already out to collect the downed Aeva.

She needs some time off after the celebrations…

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Overlord Kuran was staring at Gnarl, speechless for several minutes since the old minion told him the latest news. Then finally he began to say, "Let me get it straight… the prize we promised… YOU LOST IT?"

"I am deeply ashamed, my Lord. But in fact, the prize went missing as soon as the winner was decided. I am terribly sorry."

"And do you have ANY idea where you lost it?" pondered Kuran, his eye twitching in annoyance.

"I am sorry. But I have no idea." was Gnarls reply…

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Walking down a long path, Hatroz was eying the weapon Gnarl had given him. "A Club that can call upon the elements to destroy enemies… truly not a weapon that should be in mortal hands. Or even remotely close to an Overlord. That minion was smart to leave it to my hands no matter what." and continues his way.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Rubbing the temples on his head, the Overlord glared at the Minion Master and snarls, "Now be a smart guy like you always pretends to be and tell me what we should do NOW!"

"Don't worry master. I have something prepared instead." and snaps his fingers. Minions showed up and brought forth a Guan Dao. Raising an eyebrow the Overlord looks at Gnarl and the minion explains, "It is a weapon from a distant land. Called the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. One of the previous masters took it after killing the ruler of said lands. It's one of the few possessions that survived the many changes between master. Mostly as none could make head or toe of the weapon."

"I can believe you." he deadpans and shakes his head. "Well… better than nothing. But you will hold responsible for that." he points his finger at Gnarl and stomps off, not noting the minion's chuckles.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Two days had passed since Cross won the final round of the tournament… and was standing in the middle of the plaza, on a modest and waves at the cheering crowd.

Her smile was a bit forced as she still felt the wound she received in that last fight but she spends the last two days under the constant care of the healers to fix up that injury so she was presentable for this ceremony.

The crowd parted as Overlord Kuran walked forward, with queen Arlene and Gnarl at his side and a row of minions behind them.

Once he got to the podium and stepped on top of it he raised his arms and waved them to calm the people down… with only a slow process and he muttered something about certain inventions not existing in this place yet.

Once these people finally calmed down, he turned to Cross, "Cross! As the winner of our first Tournament in the coliseum, I hereby award you with a weapon from my treasure." And with a clap of his hands, the minions brought forth the weapon "That's the Green Dragon Crimson Blade. A legendary weapon from a faraway land." And he took it from the minions and offered it to Cross. "Take this weapon and be remembered as my victorious champion!"

Cross didn't hesitate and took the Guan Dao. Holding it up in the air the crowd roared in excitement once more. And as such the celebrations began…

"I hope you didn't plan anything." Admits Kuran to Cross, "I only learned five minutes ago that Sunkren organized the party. Speak seven days straight celebrations with no stop."

Cross looks at him, "You're kidding me…"

"Nope. And only the pregnant woman is allowed to leave during that time." Added the Overlord. "After that, I will make up for that time you're forced to be here… somehow." To which the red female-only rolled her eyes in annoyance.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Iskren was checking his belongings as he was packing and heard a knock on the door. He turned around and saw that Sunkren was standing there. "What do you want?"

"Are you seriously thinking of leaving? Not staying and continuing working for us? Your battle did show promise… even in the end that Titan was too much for ya." told the Succubus.

"I am sure." replied Iskren, "I only fought for you because you got me to do it somehow. But now that it is over, I leave."

Shaking her head she tossed a bag of gold at him, "Too bad… I bet with a bit more training you would have made an exceptional addition to my beloved troops."

"Goodbye." he simply said and walked out of the door, leaving the place. "And thank you for healing me with magic after I got crushed at the end of the battle."

"Your welcome." stated Sunkren.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Trevor stood in front of Lady Medin who was looking over the vixen and nods, "You performed well. Well better than I gave you credit for. Just too bad you had to deal with such a powerful magic-user at the end or you might have even reached the Final Rounds."

Shaking his head, he countered, "I doubt it Milady. Given what I heard of the other finalist, only one or two might be within my abilities but otherwise, I got completely outclassed at the end."

"That's true." admits the Lady, "Anyway. You fulfilled your side of the deal. You can leave the town now. But if you ever show up ever again, I will not hesitate and remove both of your hands myself."

"Actually… I have a proposal." Countered Trevor and Medin look at him, "As you recall… it took your entire guard to chase me and press me against a corner to capture me."

"Yes, and?"

"As one as agile as me, and knowing the ways of a thief… wouldn't it be of and advance to employ me more? To deliver what shall never fall in the wrong hands. Or take them from the hands you don't want things to see." Explains the thief and the Lady thought about it.

Nodding she then said, "I will think about it… as it is quite true that it would be a waste to let one such of you simply go. But know, if I do employ you, and you betray me, losing your hands would be the least of your worries. No, go to your room until I have decided."

"Yes, Milady." and the vixen left, planning already for his biggest coupe yet.

As he was out of the room she mused, "I wonder… who will outfox who? You who only does it for the biggest coupe… or me as I try stopping you when the time comes?"

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Anastasia was looking over her clothes and sighs. As the work she has to pull off to fix up her clothes would take a while. Not to mention she spent a couple of days with the healers.

While she won't bear a scar out of it, she lost more than she gained in her mind. "Well… at least I did my best. Too bad the rest of the fighters were supernatural."

"That is always a bad thing to encounter." said a female voice and the woman turned around in surprise. As she did, she saw a blue pregnant Skeith standing there… and it took her a moment to realize who it was.

"Lady Lehid! I am surprised to see you." and bowed in front of her.

"Don't sweat it. I am here in the name of my mate. He is too busy with official business now so I am here to speak with you…"

"Speak to me? About what?" asks the woman and blinked.

Lehid smiled "You will be surprised…" and giggles slightly.

**Overlord: Kingdoms Rise**

Inside a carriage sat Aeva, Abigail and Yvette in front of Lord Samuel Halbert and were awkwardly silent for some time…

Until the Lord leaned forward, "First if all." He began, "I congratulate you for making it that far. I really thought that only one of you would manage to reach the semi finals before being crushed. But not only did two of you do it, not one of you got even to the finals."

His gaze went to Yvette and Abigail, "It's just a shame the two of you had to face off in the quarters… I bet if fate had been kinder two of you would have made it there."

"Thank you!" Grinned Abigail at the praise.

Yvette, however, crossed her arms, "I have seen the other battles after ours. Only Aeva would have made it against this giant… and this Cross girl was some entirely else."

"That's true." Nodded Aeva. "The moment the demon I summoned ran away and handed me a free summon scroll, I knew I was in deep trouble. And it didn't help my greatest Trump card was not available in these lands."

Halbert eyed her, "That is a shame. Well..." He took out a bag and tossed it over.

Aeva caught it and looked inside, gasping, "But that's…"

"As outages couldn't find any use for this item, it was just put in the storage and would be forgotten over time. So nobody might investigate." Shrugged the human before folding his arms. "Once that carriage stops, you will find another one next to us. Get in and greet your beloved… Rox was the name?"

Aeva nods in confirmation and Halbert continues. "Once you're inside, the carriage will bring you outside the kingdom and I don't want to hear from any of you ever again."

"You have our word on it." confirmed the jackal and the carriage stopped. The three girls looked out of the window and indeed stood there a second carriage and the three instantly moved out and into the second one without care, greeting the one inside.

A soldier that came from the other side and Halbert nodded to him. The soldier waved him as and the carriage with this Rox and his girls left… catapult away with the help of a trebuchet and Halbert chuckled. "Given what I have seen, they will survive…And bother the town's of our neighbors." Before he knocked on the ceiling to signal the driver to head home while his man took the trebuchet apart to get it back in store.

"My Flying Mary really doesn't get much chance to be used." Mused the Lord as he thought about the siege weapon. "Against the last Overlord it was of little use against the masses of minions and in the last war the Overlord didn't want to risk damage anything important…" and leans back with a chuckle.


End file.
